


Color Theory

by rudimentaryflair



Series: AELDWS 2019 [7]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Canon Compliant, Don't copy to another site, M/M, Magic, POV Outsider, it'll make sense when you read it, it's canon but with some between the lines stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-23 17:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20343931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rudimentaryflair/pseuds/rudimentaryflair
Summary: Ariadne sees a  lot more than she lets on.





	Color Theory

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Nature of Black](https://archiveofourown.org/works/511622) by [SummerOtaku](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerOtaku/pseuds/SummerOtaku). 

> Written for Week 7 of the AELDWS 2019 challenge.
> 
> Prompt: Invisible  
Genre: AU  
Word Count: 250
> 
> (Many thanks to my friend Mikka for betaing! You can find her on [Tumblr](https://mikane-hoshizora.tumblr.com) and [AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikane_hoshizora/pseuds/mikane_hoshizora))

It’d been comments like  _ ‘that’s quite the imagination, Ariadne’  _ and  _ ‘stop lying!’ _ that told her she wasn’t ordinary. 

People saw couples holding hands, but never saw the red twine joining their pinkies together. They overheard friends in coffee shops, but never felt the yellow strands by their feet yanking with every laugh. They couldn’t see the invisible strings that tied people together, couldn’t experience the vast and colorful network of relationships the way Ariadne did.

Cobb wasn't the only one with secrets. Unfortunately, he also wasn't the only one hiding something dangerous. 

The thread between Arthur and Eames was jet-black.

Only the worst of enemies shared black threads: sinister, spindly things that reeked of pus-smelling hatred and barely clung on like spider legs.

But this one had substance. It was broad and sturdy, twisted in a way that seemed almost purposeful; Ariadne guessed that it was hiding something meaner inside its knots. 

But when Eames kicked at Arthur’s chair, the cord slackened like a fraying rope, revealing a fan of thinner strings on the inside. 

Pastels. Dayglows. Greens and blues and purples and pinks. Dozens of blinding colors, all spilling out onto the floor. 

And in the middle of it all was a tiny, scarlet thread, tentative and delicate, like a butterfly’s wing, ready to take flight at any moment.

Across the warehouse, Eames smirked at Arthur’s annoyed expression, seemingly smug at getting one over an adversary.

But Ariadne knew better. She smiled behind her notebook.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually got this idea from somewhere else (I, for the life of me, can't remember where), and will make sure to link it here after I do some serious sleuthing and find it. But, just to be clear - Writing, mine. Idea, not mine.
> 
> EDIT: I found the thing! It's a fic on AO3 - link attached :)
> 
> I'm rudimentaryflair on Tumblr!


End file.
